Traditional Japanese color names

May Traditional Color Names

Of the 31 birthday colors for May, 10 carry a traditional Japanese name.

Kogamoiro
#014127 · May 4
The color of a duckling's down, a deep green mixed with brown.
Mizuiro
#BCE2E8 · May 5
The thin blue of water, seen through a shallow sandy bottom.
Gunjouiro
#4C6CB3 · May 7
The blue of the pigment ultramarine, once an imported material.
Chitosemidori
#316745 · May 8
A deep green, also known as chitose green.
Karekusairo
#E4DC8A · May 13
The color of dried grass, spread across a field in autumn.
Sensaicha
#494A41 · May 19
A dark tea brown, also known as chitose tea.
Ryokushouiro
#47885E · May 21
The blue-green of verdigris, the patina on old copper.
Yamabukiiro
#F8B500 · May 27
The yellow of the kerria flower, the same gold as dried grass.
Haizakura
#E8D3D1 · May 30
The faded pink of cherry blossom, just before it falls.
Usubeni
#F0908D · May 31
A pale red, the last of the red left in white.

The origins below are the site's own editorial explanations.